The Scorpion or the Grasshopper?
by KittenMalfoy
Summary: Years after Erik walked the dark corridors of the Opera house a new mystery unfolds. Could the strange room stumbled upon have belonged to the famous Opera Ghost?
1. The Voice

Title: The Scorpion or the Grasshopper: Which?  
  
Author: Kitten Malfoy  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Phantom of the Opera or the Paris Opera house. I also do not own any of Gaston Leroux's characters. I do own Dorian. He is a result of too much alcohol too late at night.  
  
Dedication: For Chris  
  
Summary: It has been twenty years since Erik has haunted the Opera house. A young Stagehand begins to hear strange voices. He connects them to the only thing he can think of...the Opera Ghost. The voices convince him to venture deep down into the cellars of the Opera House, tumbling into Erik's world. Will the Opera Ghost rise again?  
  
Author's Note: I have combined all of the books, movies and plays I have read and seen. That way there is a little bit of everything in this. Let me know what you think.  
  
Dorian Giry stood over his mother's coffin with tears in his soft brown eyes. She had been ill for quite some time but the death was sudden and shocking. Meg Giry was all Dorian had in the world. He had grown up without a father, having only stories of some mysterious man that was responsible for his birth. Meg had told Dorian that his father died only a few months before his birth. Now Dorian had nothing. There was his new job at the Opera House to look forward to. But that was all.  
  
The managers had taken pity on the young man. His mother and Grandmother had worked for them for many years and young Dorian was now willing to carry on the tradition. He would start off as a stagehand, nothing glamorous. He didn't have it in him to get up in front of crowds and perform. He was shy and quiet. Not like his mother at all. The only similarity between them was their petit build. Dorian had dark brown hair and soft, gentle brown eyes. He could remember that his mother often commented that he looked how his father would have looked if it had not been for...that was the point that she always trailed off.  
  
Meg had taught Dorian to dance when he was a small child. He had learned quickly. She wanted to send him for voice lessons after hearing him singing alone in his room one evening before dinner. Dorian protested. He hated being in front of people. He preferred to be alone. Dorian spent most of his life in solitude.  
  
Dorian sighed while they lowered the coffin into the ground. He took a step forward and tossed down a rose. "Je t'aime." Dorian's voice was barely above a whisper. A single tear slid down his pale cheek. He wiped it away quickly. He could not allow anyone to see him show such a sign of weakness.  
  
Later that evening Dorian managed to stumble back into the small apartment he had been sharing with his mother. He had stayed there to take care of her. Near the end she had trouble walking and doing things that would be needed for her to take care of herself.  
  
Knowing that he had a long first day ahead of him, he fell onto his bed and closed his eyes. Sleeping was going to be difficult but he had to try. Once asleep he dreamt of a strange labyrinthine world. It was dark and damp. At one point he noticed a lake. The dream was odd and felt uncomfortably real. Dorian sensed that it was trying to show him something when he woke the next morning. Shaking off the images he dressed and headed off to work.  
  
The Opera House was as lovely as always. Dorian often felt at home there. For as long as he could remember he would visit his mother within those walls. Occasionally he had felt the need to venture off, causing quite a fright among the employees. He could wander around that place for hours and not grow tired or get lost in unfamiliar corridors and passageways. Somehow he knew every detail of the place.  
  
Dorian's job was simple enough. It wasn't as if he had a lot to learn. He had made friends with some of the older stagehands during the many times he had gone to the Opera House when he was a child. They taught him about the details of working 'behind the scenes'. He had enjoyed their company and Meg was happy to have someone watch him for her.  
  
After having been at the Opera House for three hours Dorian felt once a little better about his decision to take the job. It gave him a chance to be involved in something great. Something that he would never be able to be part of in any other way, due to his terrible shyness. He wandered across the stage, carrying a few things with him to be put up and nailed down.  
  
"Dorian..." The voice was so faint that Dorian thought he had imagined it. He continued his work, shrugging if off. "Dorian. I know that you can hear me." The voice spoke again. Dorian jumped. The action caused him to drop some of the wood that he had been transporting from one side of the stage to the other. Dorian looked around. It was hard to avoid the feeling of nervousness that was slowly creeping its way up inside of him. There was no one around. Dorian was alone.  
  
Long ago there had been rumors of an 'Opera Ghost' that terrorized the Opera House and demanded that everything go his way. When the topic came up in conversation Meg often changed the subject and insisted that Dorian not speak about the Ghost. Dorian wondered if the tormenting spirit was still around. Could it be the Opera ghost that had addressed him? Why Dorian? And why by name? Who was this sinister specter?  
  
"Who are you?" Dorian called out. He had to know.  
  
"Come find me...and you will learn." The voice spoke again. It was soft and musical. Dorian wondered how he could possibly search for the source. Could it have something to do with his dream? He had seen those passages before...but where? 


	2. First Descent

Title: The First Descent  
  
Author: Kitten Malfoy  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the new characters. I'm not making ANY money off of this. I have other ways to do that...insert sinister laughter here  
  
Author's Note: If I get enough reviews I'll continue this. I'm also working on an anime style picture of Dorian. Let me know if you're interested in more. (Hint: The Scorpion will come in later once he discovers he house.)  
  
Dedication: For the readers! This is a test. I need to know if people will really be interested in reading this.  
  
Dorian had difficulty concentrating for the rest of the day. The voice had been silenced after its request to be discovered. With a heavy sigh Dorian went to retrieve his coat. He crossed the entrance to the many cellars and paused as a cold shiver passed over him. Dorian gasped, wondering what had caused the unnatural reaction.  
  
Was it curiosity that made him open the door? It was true that Dorian had been reprimanded many times for his insatiable curiosity. Or could it have been something else? Was it this strange voice that was pushing at his senses? In either case the door had been disturbed and Dorian could not ignore what waited on the other side.  
  
Dorian took a deep breath, filling his lungs with what would be his last breath of semi-fresh air for the unclear amount of time that his little detour would take from him. The darkness surrounded Dorian as he descended the staircase to the first cellar. About half way down the steps Dorian was forced to feel along the walls in order to continue on his journey.  
  
The walls were damp and slimy. Soft squeaks of rodents could be heard as Dorian's hands faintly brushed bits of fur. Dorian drew another deep breath and the air reeked of mold, among other things that he could not place a name to. He was determined to move on, even when the rodents scurried across his boots. They action nearly caused him to fall but he managed to keep his balance. There was something oddly familiar about the events. It seemed so much like his dream... 


	3. Alone in the Darkness

Title: Alone in the Darkness  
  
Author: Kitten Malfoy  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the new characters. I'm not making ANY money off of this. I have other ways to do that...insert sinister laughter here  
  
Author's Note: Good news! The anime style pic of Dorian is done. Bad news...my scanner broke. So...I'll have to find another way to get it online. Sorry the last chapter was so short. I wasn't sure if enough people would be reading it. SO here's the third part...I think I'm going to keep going with the shorter chapters, that way I'll post more often.  
  
Dedication: For the reviewers! Thank you so much! And for my new friends, Kyle and Sam.  
  
Dorian stepped slowly off the last stair and groaned. The musty smell of the first cellar hit him hard. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. It was dreadful. The way it felt as if it were trying to crush his fragile lungs was almost unbearable. However, he knew that he must go on. He could feel that there was something waiting for him.  
  
A sudden change in the angle of the floor made Dorian stumble forward. His hands swiftly moved to protect the rest of his body from hitting the hard ground below. Unfortunately it wasn't enough and he hit the ground hard. The force of his fall knocked the wind out of him, making it difficult for him to stand.  
  
Dorian carefully lifted himself off the floor and leaned against the nearest wall for support. A sharp sting made him aware of the cut he had obtained in the fall. Glancing down at his left knee he noticed a small amount of blood already staining his clothes.  
  
"Damn." Dorian muttered while bending to further examine the growing red stain. Part of him wanted to turn back. He looked up at the dark staircase and sighed. It hadn't gone far and he could always come back in a day or two when the cut healed.  
  
"Don't turn back yet. You've learned nothing." The mysterious whisper had returned. Dorian nodded hypnotically. He would continue. It wasn't enough damage to hold him back. 


End file.
